On a clear morning in May, Ron Douglas left his home in exurban Denver, eased into his Toyota pickup truck and drove to a business meeting at a Starbucks. Douglas, a bearded bear of a man, ordered a venti double-chocolate-chip Frappuccino  the girliest drink ever, he called it  and then sat down to discuss the future of the growing survivalist industry.

The fact that Douglas not only told me where he lives but also invited me to visit him would be considered a huge mistake by many in the prepping world. Revealing your location runs the risk of compromising your Opsec, or operations security, an abbreviation coined by the military and adopted by survivalists. I dont even mention what state I live in, James Wesley Rawles, the editor of SurvivalBlog.com, a popular prepping Web site, told me. All Im at liberty to discuss, with consent of my wife, is that I live somewhere west of the Rockies.

For Rawles and others, its a matter of security. Revealing your location gives the Unprepared a road map to the stockpiles of the Prepared, in the event of Teotwawki. I dont want to wake up and find out that Im the go-to guy  literally, Rawles says.

If civilization breaks down, Douglass house is definitely where you want to be. In his home office  the de facto headquarters for Red Sheds six shareholders and two independent contractors  he keeps not only his iPad and his MacBook but also a ham radio and a C.B. radio. In his basement, there is roughly a years supply of wheat, rice and other staples. And outside, he tries to keep a years supply of chopped wood and, in his garage, 375 gallons of water.

If civilization breaks down, Douglass house is definitely where you want to be. In his home office  the de facto headquarters for Red Sheds six shareholders and two independent contractors  he keeps not only his iPad and his MacBook but also a ham radio and a C.B. radio. In his basement, there is roughly a years supply of wheat, rice and other staples. And outside, he tries to keep a years supply of chopped wood and, in his garage, 375 gallons of water.

If civilization breaks down, Douglass house is definitely where you want to be. In his home office  the de facto headquarters for Red Sheds six shareholders and two independent contractors  he keeps not only his iPad and his MacBook but also a ham radio and a C.B. radio. In his basement, there is roughly a years supply of wheat, rice and other staples. And outside, he tries to keep a years supply of chopped wood and, in his garage, 375 gallons of water.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Piker.******************

And since its a New York Slimes article they did not mention his 10,000 rounds of ammunition or his gun collection.Piker indeed.

Direct, smart, simultaneous assault from multiple directions at the right time, or multiple times.

He doesn’t have the means to sustain a 24 X 7 X 360 degree multi-layered defense.

there is no way he and his family of four (guessing) could keep ‘me’ and my band of marauders from taking ‘you and yours’ in three days/ 72 hours. he simply cannot control the order of battle or its tempo. I can. It is simple to war game this.

Besides, piss ‘me’ off bad enough, and I’ll burn/smoke you out.

BTW, your .22 is laughable against what I would use. with what I have, If I can see you, you are in range. Not true for your .22 And I have NVG.

a family cannot defend their suburban homestead. period.

In truth I and mine will not be the ones who come for this guy. REAL barbarians will.

by staying, you condemn your family to die in place.

Done.

p.s. I read the article. He may have a good plan, but it’s not there, and he makes no reference to it.

“Stealth is the only answer to security. Nothing to know, no one to know it. Keep it that way.”

Living in Suburbia I realize that my house would be an easy target for a group of folks. No assets for a bug-out place, although I have scouted for camping spots. I wonder if “camo” of sorts on my suburban home would work.

Live in the downstairs with boarded-up windows and blankets so NO light could get through. Upstairs have windows broken out, some smoke soot up the outside walls and eaves. Perhaps a bunch of crap strewn around the front yard like it as already been looted.

Some have posited the idea that after awhile the roving gangs will have killed themselves off - so their threat would be reduced after awhile. So if you can survive until then you might make it.

27
posted on 11/20/2012 8:41:46 PM PST
by 21twelve
(So I [God] gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. Psalm 81:12)

But if you can't make potable water from local sources, in large quantity, you are fairly screwed.

That's the problem with the Southwest WATER! Even if you can make it potable you have to get to it. And water holes in a SHTF situation would quickly become like watering holes in Africa the predators favorite haunts.

Where we plan to go offers ‘stealth’. it’s very rural, way off the beaten track, offers cover and concealment, and controlled ingress routes.

WRT the people and their training. Let’s just say we have that covered. It’s not a militia thing, it’s what they/ we have done in our past, and what we are mentally (if less so physically) prepared to do. it’s more than just our nuclear family.

the net is that we are doing the right things to get away from certain death - a suburban stick-built home in a development near a major city.

I am convinced we could NOT defend in place and survive. We have FAR better chances getting away, and then regrouping.

You will feed the hive. It’s just a matter of when. If it weren’t so late, I’d refer you to some good titles on the subject.

But for now, just ping Matt Bracken on Facebook, and tell him ( a former SEAL and current FReeper) that you intend to pursue your D.I.P. strategy. You won’t like his response. He’s travis McGee on FR.

Good. That puts all the predators in one spot that can be used to reduce the population. I intend to hunt ferals if things get that bad. Just like I hunt feral hogs now. You can pull a population of ferals down pretty quickly.

he writes about “ ... neighborhood defense teams will evolve into proactive suburban armed vigilante groups (SAVs) out of a desire to preemptively take the violence to their perceived enemies, instead of passively waiting for the next home invasion or carjacking.”

Wherever you may be, at some point, some level of DIP is necessary. It needs to be as low level as possible.

Hopefully just niping the scouts off, but disposal is the real issue, and why wild lands are best if possible. Just don’t drag them down wind from you, or you will have ‘guests’ that make a gangster look friendly. (we had some after a forest fire a few years ago - not good)

We have a suburban home, and a remote ranch in the sierra. each has its drawbacks; some decision making is always going to be necessary, but if you make a big noise, you will have a big reaction on your hands.

Earlier this year, I was processing a feral hog for the kitchen (cooks can do that), and needed to remove the head. For the first time, instead of a knife and bow saw, I used the fancy battery powered reciprocating saw with the big wrecking blade.

It was very quick. Very, very quick.

I stuck the head on a sharp stick to keep it out of the dirt because I wanted to use it in the kitchen..

And then it hit me that perhaps there was a lesson there about advertisement, and disposal.

My Son-in-law does feral pig frequently. They live on a ranchette in outer suburbia east of the SF Bay Area, and find an amazing number of pigs roaming their area. He is an avid hunter. My daughter used to think she was a vegetarian, but found out differently after she got family-ized :o)

Both BO and DIP have there advantages and disadvantages. Much depends on the cause of the SHTF situation. In prepping there is NO one sizes fits all.

Even a BOL could come under such an attack as described. You never know what a friend of a friend of a neighbor knows.

I believe stealth is always the best plan either defensive or offensive in SHTF. Direct attack with over whelming force will always work though a determined and skilled defender could make it cost his attacker dearly, especially if he takes steps to insure that if over run nothing remains that is salvageable. A few ‘wins’ like that will soon weaken such a band to a point were it breaks up or falls prey to other bands.

Hopefully just niping the scouts off, but disposal is the real issue, and why wild lands are best if possible.

Oddly, that is something I am having a hard time gaming. FerFal has written a great deal about Argentina and the collapse. I understand his position, but beyond that people must think through the possibilities.

For instance, FerFal has written about the strategy of the abandoned home. In the case of financial collapse this makes a great deal of sense. Easy pickings are homes that looked abandoned. No one is home so therefore let us pick through the rubble.

But what if this is truly the 90 day die off? That is unchartered territory on a global scale. DIP will come into play in WROL. What then?

I am not ex-military, but I have gamed it over many years. I know every inch of my mountainous rural land. I know my weakness and strengths. I have placed signs warning of trespass. Then what?

What if they don't read? I know I will take down quite a few. What then? That is a question that is probably the hardest to answer. I have no illusions. The very best of the best could get through, but why bother? Those are the smart ones. It is the others I have not been able to figure out.

I guess maybe putting away more fuel for the neighbors Kubota is the only option. That is just something that is very hard to envision.

Agreed wholeheartedly. And interestingly, if enough of our fellow Americans talking about "prepping" don't start learning to plan, design, build and generally produce many things, they might not survive after all.

Life is short. The "end of the world" will come for each and every one of us. Living morally good and with as few later regrets and sadnesses as possible are of utmost importance.

42
posted on 11/20/2012 9:45:00 PM PST
by familyop
(We Baby Boomers are croaking in an avalanche of rotten politics smelled around the planet.)

Johnny, as you know, I hide easily in public because I’m just a little old lady who couldn’t have anything and besides, she looks and talks like she’s a little addled and doesn’t know jack about anything. Leave the old lady to die on her own. Move on, nothing to see here. In an emergency, I won’t be seen, anyway but if I am, no one will take note. But if someone sees me, I will ask for a can of soup or piece of bread because I’m old and hungry.

43
posted on 11/20/2012 9:47:43 PM PST
by Marcella
(When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.)

That's strange to me, too, coming from the NY Times. I haven't watched television for nearly a decade except for a very few Web videos published by TV stations but have seen comments on quite a few related "prepper" and end-of-the-world TV shows. Must be all the rage.

46
posted on 11/20/2012 10:15:49 PM PST
by familyop
(We Baby Boomers are croaking in an avalanche of rotten politics smelled around the planet.)

“even if you have food stockpiled it would be advisable to go to the soup lines for a paltry cup of soup”

And, I wouldn't go there totally clean, either. I'd have proper attire for that - wrinkled, soiled shirt and wrinkled pants and I'd go out back and put dirt on my hands and shake it off so hands wouldn't be totally clean. Maybe I'd wear slide on house shoes (I have a pair my little dog chewed) so I'd really look like an old lady who didn't even have a decent pair of shoes.

There wouldn't be any light showing from my house but I have light forever.

well, we don't know what will happen but this country is going down economically. I have some boxes with canned food in them that need to be moved and I thought this box is so heavy I can't lift it, I'll have to shove it across the floor. This is grocery store food so it is heavy. These food was bought in the last 4-5-6 months. I saw some cans of Hunts whole plum tomatoes and thought, “I'm glad I got that - whole tomatoes, that's great.” I didn't remember I bought them. I guess I'll have some surprise meals of food I didn't remember I bought.

My next possible danger is a hurricane coming this way next year. That possibility will never go away.

47
posted on 11/20/2012 10:33:21 PM PST
by Marcella
(When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.)

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